Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske (September 16th 1924 -- August 12th 2014) was one of the best, sexiest and sexiest-voiced actresses of 1940s and '50s Hollywood. Known for her range as an actress, she could do everything from serious, FilmNoir dramatic roles like ''Film/TheBigSleep'' to ridiculous comedies of errors like 1953's ''Film/HowToMarryAMillionaire'' (with Betty Grable and Creator/MarilynMonroe).

Bacall's acting career could be best described as "right place, right time" or the idyllic lifestyle that any aspiring actor would want. After her parents separated when she was a child, her mother encouraged her to make it big in show business. Her [[StageNames name was changed]] and [[DyeHard hair was dyed]] (the name "Perske" sounded too Jewish, apparently) and her film debut was one of the most successful of the year. She appeared in four movies with Creator/HumphreyBogart, whom she married despite being over 20 years younger than him.

Starting in TheSixties, she stopped really appearing in films, but had a rather successful career on Broadway, starring in production such as ''Theatre/CactusFlower'' and ''Applause'', and as a liberal activist. She also voiced the idents for PBS from 1996 to 2003 (in one version, Bacall herself appeared, as that set of idents had people like Chris Rock lifting a disc with the 'P-Head' symbol over their faces as small acrobats appeared around them). She lived for 53 years in the Dakota Apartments in New York City, and thus was Music/JohnLennon's neighbor before Lennon's murder.

Incidentally, Bacall was a first cousin of Shimon Peres, former UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}i president and prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize with Rabin and Arafat for trying to fix the UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict. Peres was born Szymon Perski. One wonders what their family reunions (if any) are like.

Bacall died on August 12, 2014 at the age of 89 in New York City from a stroke (though news of her death was overshadowed with news of another celebrity death: Creator/RobinWilliams' suicide, which happened the day before). She will be missed.

----!!Partial filmography:* ''Film/ToHaveAndHaveNot'' (1944)* ''Film/TheBigSleep'' (1946)* ''Film/DarkPassage'' (1947)* ''Film/KeyLargo'' (1948)* ''Film/HowToMarryAMillionaire'' (1953)* ''Film/TheCobweb'' (1955)* ''Film/DesigningWoman'' (1957)* ''Film/NorthWestFrontier'' (1959)* ''Film/{{Harper}}'' (1966)* ''[[Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress1974 Murder on the Orient Express]]'' (1974)* ''Film/TheShootist'' (1976)* ''Literature/{{Misery}}'' (1990)* ''Film/TheMirrorHasTwoFaces'' (1996)* ''Anime/SpiritedAway'' (2001)* ''Film/{{Dogville}}'' (2003)----!!Lauren Bacall displays examples of:* DeadpanSnarker: In and out character.* FemmeFatale: She played this character a lot.* FilmNoir: The genre she is closely associated with. * LastOfHerKind: She was one of a very select few members of The Golden Age of Hollywood who lived well into the 21st century. More specifically, of the 15 giants of Old Hollywood that Music/{{Madonna}} name checks in the ''Film/DickTracy''-inspired song [[Music/ImBreathless "Vogue,"]] she was the last one to pass away.* MsFanservice: Was often the eye candy on the screen. Bacall herself [[IAmNotPretty didn't understand the attention she received]] because she saw herself as plain-looking and too tall with large feet.* [[NiceJewishBoy Nice Jewish Girl]]: Stated that she constantly struggled to fit this archetype throughout her life.* PromotedFangirl: Bacall states that her marriage to Bogart helped her to mingle with many famous actors and celebrities that were eventually referred to as legends, despite being years younger than them. Some of them she'd even admired when she was a teenager in drama school.* SmokingIsGlamorous: One of the iconic cigarette smokers in Hollywood. * StageName: Given to her by Creator/HowardHawks. Her close friends called her "Betty," though, and Bogie called her "Baby."* {{Tsundere}}: Her screen persona.* {{WASP}}: Born and raised Jewish, but chose her mother's maiden name "Bacal" and added another L to change this, and then Hollywood gave her the stage name "Lauren".----